Small Trees for a Border Garden

Small fruiting trees add beauty to a garden and often attract an array of birds.

Small trees add a vertical element to a garden without becoming imposing. Just as important, they provide privacy when used as a border. Plus, they add vital habitat for shade-loving plants. Many beautiful small trees thrive in various climates and growing conditions, giving you a range of options for what to plant along your garden border.

Fruiting Trees

Small fruiting trees will supply you and your family with delicious produce, and they often attract birds to the garden. Sambucus nigra ssp. caerulea, or blue elderberry, fruits in the summer. The fruits of this small native tree grow in vivid blue or purple clumps and it blossoms with cream-colored flowers. The berries are sweet and edible (unlike red elderberries, which are poisonous). A variety of other fruit trees, such as apple, peach, pear, cherry and apricot species, are appropriate as well. Consider planting dwarf varieties so you don't end up with far more fruit than you can eat.

Flowering Trees

Aside from fruit trees, other small species produce attractive flowers. Garrya elliptica, or silk tassel bush, has long, silver-green catkins that hang from its branches through the winter, giving life to your garden in the colder months. Arbutus menziesii, or Pacific madrone, blossoms with clusters of bell-shaped white flowers in the spring. The tree also grows red berries that indigenous people traditionally used as a food source, although they're not commonly eaten today. The beautiful mahogany colored bark of this native tree peels off of young trees in large flakes.

Evergreens

Evergreens add greenery to a garden throughout the year. Mix several small varieties to create the look of a forest. Picea omorika, or dwarf Serbian spruce, is a small evergreen, growing only to 8 feet. Picea sitchensis, or dwarf Sitka spruce, grows to just 6 feet, its needles growing in rounded clumps on short branches. Thuja occidentalis, or white cedar, has a compact pyramid shape and grows to 10 feet.

Bright Leaves

Bright leaves add contrast to a garden. Broussonetia papyrifera, or paper mulberry, has lovely greenish yellow leaves that provide an excellent backdrop for blue flowers. Acer palmatum var. dissectum, or Japanese threadleaf maple, is an elegantly formed little tree with delicate, frond-like leaves that turn gold in autumn. Its branches fall gracefully in a draping pattern. Cotinus, or grace smoke tree, has shimmering reddish foliage in the spring, pink blossoms in summer and vivid red or yellowish leaves in the fall.

About the Author

Melanie J. Martin specializes in environmental issues and sustainable living. Her work has appeared in venues such as the Environmental News Network, "Ocean" magazine and "GREEN Retailer." Martin holds a Master of Arts in English.